Systems and methods for media track management in a media editing tool

ABSTRACT

In a media editing device for reorganizing media content and editing the reorganized media content, a plurality of tracks is obtained, where each track comprises at least one component, each component comprising at least one segment, each segment comprising one of: image content, video content, audio content, and audio/video content. A first user input selecting a plurality of the tracks is received. A second user input selecting at least one reorganization technique to be applied to the selected tracks is also received. The selected reorganization technique is applied to the selected tracks, and the reorganized tracks are displayed. Editing operations are received for at least one of the reorganized tracks.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to, and the benefit of, U.S.Provisional Patent Application entitled, “Systems and Methods for MediaTrack Management in a Media Editing Tool,” having Ser. No. 62/263,802,filed on Dec. 7, 2015, which is incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to multimedia content and moreparticularly, to systems and methods for media track management.

BACKGROUND

As smartphones and other mobile devices have become ubiquitous, peoplehave the ability to take pictures virtually any time. Furthermore, withan ever-growing amount of content available to consumers through theInternet and other sources, consumers have access to a vast amount ofdigital content. With existing media editing tools, users can manuallyedit digital images to achieve a desired effect or style. However, whilemany media editing tools are readily available, the editing process canat times be complex and time-consuming for the casual user whenprocessing a large volume of content.

SUMMARY

Briefly described, one embodiment, among others, is a method implementedin a media editing device for reorganizing media content and editing thereorganized media content. A plurality of tracks is obtained, where eachtrack comprises at least one component, each component comprising atleast one segment, each segment comprising one of: image content, videocontent, audio content, and audio/video content. A first user inputselecting a plurality of the tracks is received. A second user inputselecting at least one reorganization technique to be applied to theselected tracks is also received. The selected reorganization techniqueis applied to the selected tracks, and the reorganized tracks aredisplayed. Editing operations are received for at least one of thereorganized tracks.

Another embodiment is a system that comprises a memory storinginstructions and a processor coupled to the memory. The processor isconfigured by the instructions to obtain a plurality of tracks, eachtrack comprising at least one component, each component comprising atleast one segment, each segment comprising one of: image content, videocontent, audio content, and audio/video content. The processor isfurther configured by the instructions to receive a first user inputselecting a plurality of the tracks and receive a second user inputselecting at least one reorganization technique to be applied to theselected tracks. The processor is further configured by the instructionsto apply the selected reorganization technique to the selected tracksand display the reorganized tracks. The processor is further configuredby the instructions to receive editing operations for at least one ofthe reorganized tracks.

Another embodiment is a non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumstoring instructions to be implemented by a computing device having aprocessor. The processor, when executing the instructions, cause thecomputing device to obtain a plurality of tracks, each track comprisingat least one component, each component comprising at least one segment,each segment comprising one of: image content, video content, audiocontent, and audio/video content. The processor, when executing theinstructions, further causes the computing device to receive a firstuser input selecting a plurality of the tracks and receive a second userinput selecting at least one reorganization technique to be applied tothe selected tracks. The processor, when executing the instructions,further causes the computing device to apply the selected reorganizationtechnique to the selected tracks and display the reorganized tracks. Theprocessor, when executing the instructions, further causes the computingdevice to receive editing operations for at least one of the reorganizedtracks.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various aspects of the disclosure can be better understood withreference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings arenot necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearlyillustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in thedrawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding partsthroughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a media editing device in accordance withvarious embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic block diagram of the media editing devicein FIG. 1 in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for implementing a track management system forfacilitating multimedia editing performed by the media editing device ofFIG. 1 in accordance with various embodiments.

FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C illustrate an example user interface for selectingtracks to be rearranged based on one or more selected reorganizationtechniques in accordance with various embodiments.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate an example whereby a grouping of selectedtracks is sorted based on the number of components in each track inaccordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 6A illustrates an example user interface whereby components fromselected tracks are grouped together to create a new component inaccordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 6B illustrates the newly created component with the selectedcomponents grouped together in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 6C illustrates placement of the newly created component of FIG. 7in one of the tracks in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates a merging operation where components are relocated toother tracks based on available space in accordance with variousembodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates a reduction in the number tracks upon application ofa merging operation in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 9 illustrates an ungrouping operation performed on a newly createdcomponent comprising two components in accordance with variousembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments are disclosed for systems and methods for performingmedia track management to facilitate selection of media tracks forediting purposes. With the proliferation of smartphones, users arereadily able to capture images and/or video clips anywhere and anytime.As time passes, the library of captured media content grows. As canappreciated, it can become increasingly difficult to manage and identifytracks for editing purposes as the volume of media content and thenumber of media tracks grows. The disclosed media management systemallows users to sort, merge, and arrange a large number of tracks in amedia editing tool.

In the context of this disclosure, a media track generally refers to acombination of one or more components where each component may furthercomprise one or more segments. Each segment may comprise audio-onlycontent, video-only content, image content, or audio-video content,where each component may contain one or more segments. In someinstances, each component initially contains a single segment at thebeginning of the editing phase. After the user merges multiplecomponents into a single component, the newly formed single componentmay then comprise multiple segments.

A description of a track management system for facilitating multimediaediting is now described followed by a discussion of the operation ofthe components within the system. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a mediaediting device 102 in which the track reorganization techniquesdisclosed herein may be implemented. In the context of this disclosure,reorganization of tracks can refer to the reordering, merging, and/orrestructuring of tracks for facilitating access to a large number oftracks for media editing purposes.

The media editing device 102 may be embodied as a computing deviceequipped with digital content recording capabilities such as, but notlimited to, a digital camera, a smartphone, a tablet computing device, adigital video recorder, a laptop computer coupled to a webcam, and soon. The media editing device 102 is configured to retrieve, via a mediainterface 112, digital media content 115 stored on a storage medium 120such as, by way of example and without limitation, a compact disc (CD)or a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive, wherein the digital mediacontent 115 may then be stored locally on a hard drive of the mediaediting device 102. As one of ordinary skill will appreciate, thedigital media content 115 may be encoded in any of a number of formatsincluding, but not limited to, JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)files, TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) files, PNG (Portable NetworkGraphics) files, GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) files, BMP (bitmap)files or any number of other digital formats.

The digital media content 115 may be encoded in other formats including,but not limited to, Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG)-1, MPEG-2,MPEG-4, H.264, Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), 3GPP-2,Standard-Definition Video (SD-Video), High-Definition Video (HD-Video),Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) multimedia, Video Compact Disc (VCD)multimedia, High-Definition Digital Versatile Disc (HD-DVD) multimedia,Digital Television Video/High-definition Digital Television (DTV/HDTV)multimedia, Audio Video Interleave (AVI), Digital Video (DV), QuickTime(QT) file, Windows Media Video (WMV), Advanced System Format (ASF), RealMedia (RM), Flash Media (FLV), an MPEG Audio Layer III (MP3), an MPEGAudio Layer II (MP2), Waveform Audio Format (WAV), Windows Media Audio(WMA), or any number of other digital formats.

The media interface 112 in the media editing device 102 may also beconfigured to retrieve digital media content 115 directly from a digitalrecording device 107 where a cable 111 or other interface can be usedfor coupling the digital recording device 107 to the media editingdevice 102. The media editing device 102 may support any one of a numberof common computer interfaces, such as, but not limited to IEEE-1394High Performance Serial Bus (Firewire), USB, a serial connection, and aparallel connection.

The digital recording device 107 may also be coupled to the mediaediting device 102 over a wireless connection or other communicationpath. The media editing device 102 may be coupled to a network 117 suchas, for example, the Internet, intranets, extranets, wide area networks(WANs), local area networks (LANs), wired networks, wireless networks,or other suitable networks, etc., or any combination of two or more suchnetworks. Through the network 117, the media editing device 102 mayreceive digital media content 115 from another computing system 103.Alternatively, the media editing device 102 may access one or more mediacontent sharing websites 134 hosted on a server 137 via the network 117to retrieve digital media content 115.

A media track manager 114 executes on a processor of the media editingdevice 102 and configures the processor to perform variousoperations/functions relating to management of multimedia tracks. Forexample, the media editing device 102 may be configured to sort tracksbased on the number of multimedia components in the tracks. The mediatrack manager 114 may also be configured to group or merge multiplecomponents to form a new component, where the components originate froma common track or where the components span different tracks.

The media track manager 114 may be further configured to place thegrouped components into an available time slot within one of the tracks,or if necessary, create a new track for the grouped components. Themedia track manager 114 may be configured to move components from onetrack to another in order to reduce the overall number of tracks. Themedia track manager 114 may also be configured to ungroup or partition acomponent into multiple components.

The UI generator 116 is executed to generate a user interface forallowing a user to view and organize media tracks comprising one or moremedia components. The user interface allows the user to specify suchuser input as the selection of tracks and the selection of one or morereorganization techniques to be applied to the selected tracks. The userinterface also allows the user to specify whether to reorganizeadditional tracks when a first reorganization operation has beenperformed. The reorganized tracks are displayed in the user interface,and the user can then elect to further reorganize tracks or applyediting operations to various tracks. Examples of various userinterfaces generated by the UI generator 116 are described later.

The media editor 118 is executed to obtain input from a user and performediting operations on the organized media tracks. The user input can beobtained by the media editor 118 via selection or manipulation of UIcomponents in an editing toolbar. The media editing operations maycomprise such operations as trimming, cropping, cutting, and so on.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic block diagram of the media editing device102 in FIG. 1. The media editing device 102 may be embodied in any oneof a wide variety of wired and/or wireless computing devices, such as adesktop computer, portable computer, dedicated server computer,multiprocessor computing device, smart phone, tablet, and so forth. Asshown in FIG. 2, each of the media editing device 102 comprises memory214, a processing device 202, a number of input/output interfaces 204, anetwork interface 206, a display 104, a peripheral interface 211, andmass storage 226, wherein each of these components are connected acrossa local data bus 210.

The processing device 202 may include any custom made or commerciallyavailable processor, a central processing unit (CPU) or an auxiliaryprocessor among several processors associated with the media editingdevice 102, a semiconductor based microprocessor (in the form of amicrochip), a macroprocessor, one or more application specificintegrated circuits (ASICs), a plurality of suitably configured digitallogic gates, and other well known electrical configurations comprisingdiscrete elements both individually and in various combinations tocoordinate the overall operation of the computing system.

The memory 214 may include any one of a combination of volatile memoryelements (e.g., random-access memory (RAM, such as DRAM, and SRAM,etc.)) and nonvolatile memory elements (e.g., ROM, hard drive, tape,CDROM, etc.). The memory 214 typically comprises a native operatingsystem 216, one or more native applications, emulation systems, oremulated applications for any of a variety of operating systems and/oremulated hardware platforms, emulated operating systems, etc. Forexample, the applications may include application specific softwarewhich may comprise some or all the components of the media editingdevice 102 depicted in FIG. 1. In accordance with such embodiments, thecomponents are stored in memory 214 and executed by the processingdevice 202, thereby causing the processing device 202 to perform theoperations/functions relating to track management disclosed herein. Oneof ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the memory 214 can,and typically will, comprise other components which have been omittedfor purposes of brevity.

Input/output interfaces 204 provide any number of interfaces for theinput and output of data. For example, where the media editing device102 comprises a personal computer, these components may interface withone or more user input/output interfaces 204, which may comprise akeyboard or a mouse, as shown in FIG. 2. The display 104 may comprise acomputer monitor, a plasma screen for a PC, a liquid crystal display(LCD) on a hand held device, a touchscreen, or other display device.

In the context of this disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readablemedium stores programs for use by or in connection with an instructionexecution system, apparatus, or device. More specific examples of acomputer-readable medium may include by way of example and withoutlimitation: a portable computer diskette, a random access memory (RAM),a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory(EPROM, EEPROM, or Flash memory), and a portable compact disc read-onlymemory (CDROM) (optical).

Reference is made to FIG. 3, which is a flowchart 300 in accordance withvarious embodiments for implementing a track management system forfacilitating multimedia editing performed by the media editing device102 of FIG. 1. It is understood that the flowchart 300 of FIG. 3provides merely an example of the different types of functionalarrangements that may be employed to implement the operation of thevarious components of the media editing device 102. As an alternative,the flowchart 300 of FIG. 3 may be viewed as depicting an example ofsteps of a method implemented in the media editing device 102 accordingto one or more embodiments.

Although the flowchart 300 of FIG. 3 shows a specific order ofexecution, it is understood that the order of execution may differ fromthat which is depicted. For example, the order of execution of two ormore blocks may be scrambled relative to the order shown. Also, two ormore blocks shown in succession in FIG. 3 may be executed concurrentlyor with partial concurrence. It is understood that all such variationsare within the scope of the present disclosure.

At block 310, the media editing device 102 generates a user interfacethat displays tracks for allowing the user to select a plurality oftracks to be reorganized by the media editing device 102. The userinterface also displays a selection component/tool for allowing the userto select a track reorganization technique that the user wishes to applyto the selected range of tracks. Reorganization of the tracks maycomprise, for example, reordering the tracks in the user interfaceaccording to the number components in each respective track and/orgrouping multiple components into a new component. Note that thecomponents can originate from a common track or originate from multipletracks. Reorganization of the tracks may also comprise placing thegrouped components into an available time slice within one of the tracksand/or moving components from one track to another in order to reducethe overall number of tracks. As yet another example, reorganization ofthe tracks may also comprise ungrouping or partitioning a component intomultiple components.

At block 320, the media editing device 102 receives user inputspecifying one or more tracks to be reorganized. At block 330, the mediaediting device 102 receives user input specifying the trackreorganization technique that the user wishes to apply to the selectedrange of tracks (as described further below in connection with FIGS. 4Band 4C), where the selected technique is applied to the selected rangeof tracks. As described below, the user is not limited to applying one asingle reorganization technique as multiple reorganization techniquesmay be applied to the selected tracks. At block 340, the selected trackreorganization technique is applied to the range of tracks selected bythe user.

At decision block 350, a determination is made on whether any additionaltracks are to be reorganized. In some instances, the user may specifywhich additional tracks are to be reorganized. In other instances, themedia editing device 102 may automatically reorganize additional tracksfor purposes of reducing the overall number tracks, thereby furtherfacilitating the media editing process. The additional tracks maycomprise tracks that are different than the tracks previously selectedby the user. However, the user may also reorganize some or all of thepreviously selected tracks. As illustrated in various figures (asdescribed further below in connection with FIG. 4A), the user can simplyselect tracks by clicking on or manipulating a selection box or otherselection component in the user interface. Determining whetheradditional tracks are to be reorganized can comprise prompting the useronce the previously selected tracks have been reorganized and evaluatingthe user's response. If the user wishes to reorganize additional tracks,then the process returns to block 310 where an updated user interface isgenerated for facilitating selection of tracks to be reorganized.

At decision block 350, if the user does not wish to reorganize anyadditional tracks, then the process proceeds to block 360, where theuser interface is updated to reflect the reorganized tracks. The mediaediting device 102 then enters the media editing stage based on thereorganized tracks whereby the user can modify/edit one or more of thetracks. Thereafter, the process shown in FIG. 3 ends.

To illustrate various features relating to the user interface discussedabove for facilitating media track management, reference is made to FIG.4A, which is an example user interface 400 generated by the UI generator116 in accordance with various embodiments. In some embodiments, theuser interface 400 may include a preview window 402 and playbackcontrols 404 for viewing a selected track. The preview window 402 allowsthe window to view selected media content prior to and after mediaediting effects have been applied. Also shown is a timelinerepresentation 410 where the various tracks span the timelinerepresentation 410.

The user interface 400 also includes a media editing toolbar 406comprising various editing tools that may be utilized upon organizationof the various media tracks. The user interface 400 comprises varioustracks with each track comprising one or more media components. Assumefor purposes of illustration that each component (e.g., Component 1,Component 2) comprises one or more segments, as shown in FIG. 4A. Theuser interface 400 also includes selection components 408 that allow theuser to select one or more of the media tracks to be reorganized. Theuser has selected tracks 1-5 (as denoted by the “x” in each of theselection boxes). In this scenario, the user has selected tracks 1-5 forpurposes of editing these tracks using the media editing toolbar 406.

FIG. 4B illustrates a user interface 400 generated by the UI generator116 where the media track manager 114 (FIG. 1) prompts the user tospecify whether the user wishes to reorganize the selected tracks(tracks 1-5), thereby facilitating the media editing process. In someinstances, the media track manager 114 may automatically prompt the userwhen the user selects a predetermined number of tracks (e.g., 20tracks). In other instances, the media track manager 114 mayautomatically prompt the user based on the total number of segmentsassociated with the components found in the selected tracks. That is,the media track manager 114 may prompt the user when the total number ofsegments reaches or exceeds a predetermined number of segments.

FIG. 4C illustrates a user interface 400 for allowing the user tospecify one or more reorganization techniques. In the example shown, theuser has selected tracks 1-5 (as denoted by the “x” in each of theselection boxes). In some instances, the user interface 400 may providea selection component that allows the user to specify both a primaryreorganization technique and a secondary reorganization technique to beapplied to tracks 1-5. For example, the primary reorganization techniquemay comprise a merging operation while the secondary reorganization maycomprise rearranging of the tracks. Note that the selection component isnot limited to a primary and secondary reorganization technique andadditional reorganization techniques may be selected by the user. Forinstances where the user selects multiple reorganization techniques, theprimary reorganization technique has the highest priority, the secondaryreorganization technique has the next highest priority, and so on.

FIG. 5A illustrates an example of a reorganization technique comprisinga sorting operation where the selected tracks are sorted based on thenumber of components in each track. In the example shown, assume thatthe user has selected tracks 1 to 5 to be reorganized where the selectedtracks each comprise one or more components and where each component mayfurther comprise one or more segments. The user then selects one of thereorganization techniques (i.e., a sorting operation in the example ofFIG. 5A).

As shown, the order of the tracks is rearranged based on the number ofcomponents in each respective track so that the tracks are sorted indescending order, such that the track with the largest number ofcomponents is displayed in the top track (track 1), followed by thetrack with the second largest number of components (relocated to track2). That is, as shown in FIG. 5B, after applying sorting operation, thetracks are reorganized such that the tracks are displayed in thefollowing order starting from the top: track 3 (having 3 components),track 1 (having 2 components), track 4 (having 1 component with 6segments), track 2 (having 1 component with 3 segments), and track 5(having 1 component with 2 segments). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5B,track 3 is relocated to the top position previously occupied by originaltrack 1. Track 1 is relocated to the second position previously occupiedby original track 2. Track 4 is relocated to the second positionpreviously occupied by original track 3. Track 2 is relocated to thesecond position previously occupied by original track 4. The position oftrack 5 remains the same.

Note that as shown in the sorting operation in FIG. 5B, while the tracksare sorted based on the number of components, a secondary sort criteriamay be applied for instances where two or more tracks share the samenumber of components (e.g., original tracks 2, 4, and 5). The secondarysort criteria may correspond to the overall number of segments. Forexample, if two tracks contain the same number of components, the trackwith the larger overall number of segments will take precedence over theother track.

FIG. 6A illustrates a grouping/merging operation where the componentsfrom selected tracks are grouped together to create a new component. Forsome embodiments, when the user selects at least two components, thecorresponding tracks are automatically selected. The user then selectsone of the reorganization techniques to be applied to the selectedtracks (i.e., a grouping operation in the example of FIG. 6A). Thisreorganization technique can be useful when the user wishes to groupvarious video and audio components together for editing purposes. Thenewly created component may be moved to another track, trimmed, cropped,resampled, lengthened, shortened, and so on. In the example shown, theuser wishes to group components 1 and 2 in track 1 with components 1 and2 in track 3.

FIG. 6B illustrates generation of a newly created component with theselected components grouped together. Note that the original timinginformation associated with each component is preserved. FIG. 6Cillustrates placement of the newly created component into one of thetracks where one or more of the grouped components originated. Theduration of the newly created component is defined by the earliest starttime and the latest end time among the selected components. Referringback briefly to FIG. 6A, the duration of the newly created componentwill be defined by the start time of component 1 in track 1 and the endtime of component 2 in track 3.

With reference back to FIG. 6C, the newly created component is insertedinto track 3 as track 3 does not have any components that overlap intime with the newly created component and is therefore able toaccommodate the newly created component. On the other hand, track 1(where component 1 and component 2 originated) is not able toaccommodate the newly created component due to a portion of component 3overlapping in time with the newly created component. In the event thatthe media track manager 114 is not able to locate a track that canaccommodate the newly created component, the media track manager 114generates a new track with the newly created component.

FIG. 7 illustrates a reorganization technique comprising a movingoperation where components are relocated to other tracks based onavailable time slots. Specifically, the media track manager 114 (FIG. 1)first analyzes the timing relationship among components in a selectedgroup of tracks. Based on the timing relationship, the media trackmanager 114 identifies tracks that can accommodate components from lowernumbered tracks. In the example shown, assume that the selected tracks(tracks 1 to 5) have already undergone a first reorganization operationperformed by the media track manager 114 where tracks are sortedaccording to the number of components.

Next, the media track manager 114 determines that various components canbe moved into other higher ordered tracks. For example, the media trackmanager 114 determines that track 1 has an available time slot that canaccommodate component 1 in track 2. Similarly, the media track manager114 determines that track 2 has available time slots that canaccommodate components 1 and 2 in track 3. Note that due to insertion ofcomponents 1 and 2 from track 3 into claim 2, space become available intrack 3, thereby allowing component 1 in track 4 to be inserted into thetime slot previously occupied by component 2 in track 3. Similarly, dueto insertion of component 1 in track 4 into track 3, space becomeavailable in track 4, thereby allowing component 1 in track 5 to beinserted into the time slot previously occupied by component 1 in track4. Thus, the reorganization technique illustrated in FIG. 7 achieves atechnical effect of reducing the overall number of tracks, therebysimplifying the media editing process.

With reference to FIG. 8, as a result of insertion of component 1 intrack 5 into track 4, track 5 has no remaining components. The userinterface 400 may optionally include a component that allows the user todelete the empty track (track 5). Note that this is based on theassumption that only tracks 1 and 5 have been selected to undergo themerging operation and that no components in track 6 are inserted intotrack 5. As track 5 has no components, this track is removed by themedia track manager 114 (FIG. 1), thereby reducing the overall number oftracks.

In some instances, the user may later wish to ungroup a newly createdcomponent into its original components. In accordance with variousembodiments, the media track manager 114 is configured to perform anungrouping operation on a newly created component comprising a pluralityof components. Note that the media track manager 114 may be configuredto perform the ungrouping operation even if the newly created componenthas been modified, where the modification may correspond to thecomponent being effect-edited, shortened, slow-motioned, trimmed,sharpened, auto-lighting, cropped, and so on. The media track manager114 accomplishes this by preserving information relating to each of thecomponents that were grouped together, where such information mayinclude content and timing information.

To illustrate, reference is made to FIG. 9, which illustrates anungrouping operation performed on a newly created component 901comprising two sub-components. In the illustration shown, component 1from track 1 and component 2 from track 2 have been grouped together toform a newly created component 901, which spans the start time ofcomponent 1 in track 1 and the end time of component 1 in track 2 (1:05to 1:20). Suppose for purposes of illustration that a trimming operationor a cropping operation is performed on component 901 to generate a newcomponent 902 such that the new component 902 is shorter than component901 and spans 1:08 to 1:15.

Note that a trimming operation is distinguished from a croppingoperation. With a trimming operation, the length/duration of thecomponent is reduced, whereas with a cropping operation, both theresolution and the length/duration of the component are reduced.(Nonetheless, both operations achieve the desired effect of shortening agiven component.) Suppose that the user then elects to apply anungrouping operation to separate the newly created component 902 backinto the sub-components 903 a, 903 b, thereby allowing the user toperform further editing operations on only one of the sub-components 903a, 903 b. In this regard, the ungrouping operation illustrated in FIG. 9may be useful in providing the user with more control during the editingprocess. In the example shown in FIG. 9, suppose that the sub-components900 a, 900 b were edited in a grouped state (i.e., through the use ofbatch editing). If user then wishes to perform further editing on onlyone of the sub-components 903 a, 903 b, the user may utilize theungrouping operation described above in order to access thesub-components 903 a, 903 b separately.

As the media track manager 114 has preserved the original timinginformation associated with the components, the media track manager 114is able to partition the newly created component 902 into two newsub-components 903 a, 903 b, where each new sub-component 903 a, 903 bcan then be modified (e.g., trimmed or cropped) separately. For example,the user may wish to perform fine tuning of the trimming operation,where another 1 second is trimmed from sub-component 903 a while another2 seconds is trimmed from sub-component 903 b. The edited sub-components903 a, 903 b can then be recombined, relocated, etc. according to thereorganization techniques disclosed above. In this regard, generatingone or more additional tracks can comprise generating a modified trackby applying a media effect to a track among the selected tracks,receiving user input to ungroup components in the modified track,generating a new track for the components to be ungrouped, andrelocating the components to be ungrouped to a corresponding new track.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of thepresent disclosure are merely possible examples of implementations setforth for a clear understanding of the principles of the disclosure.Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-describedembodiment(s) without departing substantially from the spirit andprinciples of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations areintended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure andprotected by the following claims.

At least the following is claimed:
 1. A method implemented in a mediaediting device for reorganizing media content and editing thereorganized media content, comprising: obtaining a plurality of tracks,each track comprising at least one component, each component comprisingat least one segment, each segment comprising one of: image content,video content, audio content, and audio/video content; receiving a firstuser input selecting a plurality of the tracks; receiving a second userinput selecting at least one reorganization technique to be applied tothe selected tracks; applying the selected reorganization technique tothe selected tracks; displaying the reorganized tracks; and receivingediting operations for at least one of the reorganized tracks.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising prompting the user to specify atleast one reorganization technique in response to a number of tracksspecified in the first input exceeding a predetermined number of tracks.3. The method of claim 1, further comprising prompting the user tospecify at least one reorganization technique in response to a number ofcomponents located in the selected tracks specified in the first inputexceeding a predetermined number of components.
 4. The method of claim1, wherein the reorganization technique specified by the second userinput comprises one of: reordering the selected tracks, merging theselected tracks, and generating additional tracks.
 5. The method ofclaim 4, wherein reordering the selected tracks comprises generating alist of sorted selected tracks, the list sorting the selected tracksaccording to a number of components in each track, and wherein thetracks are rearranged and displayed according to the list of sortedselected tracks.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein a track with thehighest number of components is at the top of the list of sortedselected tracks.
 7. The method of claim 4, wherein merging the selectedtracks comprises: receiving a third user input selecting componentswithin the selected tracks to be merged; identifying available timeslots in a track among tracks containing the selected components;combining the selected components, wherein the combined selectedcomponents are relocated to the track with the available time slots. 8.The method of claim 7, wherein upon combining the selected componentsand relocating the combined selected components to the track with theavailable time slots, and wherein any tracks with no remainingcomponents after relocation of the combined selected components areremoved.
 9. The method of claim 4, wherein generating the additionaltracks comprises: generating a modified track by applying a media effectto a track among the selected tracks; receiving user input to ungroupcomponents in the modified track; generating a new track for thecomponents to be ungrouped; and relocating the components to beungrouped to a corresponding new track.
 10. A system, comprising: amemory storing instructions; and a processor coupled to the memory andconfigured by the instructions to at least: obtain a plurality oftracks, each track comprising at least one component, each componentcomprising at least one segment, each segment comprising one of: imagecontent, video content, audio content, and audio/video content; receivea first user input selecting a plurality of the tracks; receive a seconduser input selecting at least one reorganization technique to be appliedto the selected tracks; apply the selected reorganization technique tothe selected tracks; display the reorganized tracks; and receive editingoperations for at least one of the reorganized tracks.
 11. The system ofclaim 10, wherein the reorganization technique specified by the seconduser input comprises one of: reordering the selected tracks, merging theselected tracks, and generating additional tracks.
 12. The system ofclaim 11, wherein reordering the selected tracks comprises generating alist of sorted selected tracks, the list sorting the selected tracksaccording to a number of components in each track, and wherein thetracks are rearranged and displayed according to the list of sortedselected tracks.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein a track with thehighest number of components is at the top of the list of sortedselected tracks.
 14. The system of claim 11, wherein merging theselected tracks comprises: receiving a third user input selectingcomponents within the selected tracks to be merged; identifyingavailable time slots in a track among tracks containing the selectedcomponents; combining the selected components, wherein the combinedselected components are relocated to the track with the available timeslots.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein upon combining the selectedcomponents and relocating the combined selected components to the trackwith the available time slots, and wherein any tracks with no remainingcomponents after relocation of the combined selected components areremoved.
 16. The system of claim 11, wherein generating the additionaltracks comprises: generating a modified track by applying a media effectto a track among the selected tracks; receiving user input to ungroupcomponents in the modified track; generating a new track for thecomponents to be ungrouped; and relocating the components to beungrouped to a corresponding new track.
 17. A non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium storing instructions to be implementedby a computing device having a processor, wherein the instructions, whenexecuted by the processor, cause the computing device to at least:obtain a plurality of tracks, each track comprising at least onecomponent, each component comprising at least one segment, each segmentcomprising one of: image content, video content, audio content, andaudio/video content; receive a first user input selecting a plurality ofthe tracks; receive a second user input selecting at least onereorganization technique to be applied to the selected tracks; apply theselected reorganization technique to the selected tracks; display thereorganized tracks; and receive editing operations for at least one ofthe reorganized tracks.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium of claim 17, wherein the reorganization technique specified bythe second user input comprises one of: reordering the selected tracks,merging the selected tracks, and generating additional tracks.
 19. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, whereinreordering the selected tracks comprises generating a list of sortedselected tracks, the list sorting the selected tracks according to anumber of components in each track, and wherein the tracks arerearranged and displayed according to the list of sorted selectedtracks.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim18, wherein merging the selected tracks comprises: receiving a thirduser input selecting components within the selected tracks to be merged;identifying available time slots in a track among tracks containing theselected components; combining the selected components, wherein thecombined selected components are relocated to the track with theavailable time slots.
 21. The non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium of claim 18, wherein generating the additional tracks comprises:generating a modified track by applying a media effect to a track amongthe selected tracks; receiving user input to ungroup components in themodified track; generating a new track for each of the components to beungrouped; and relocating each of the components to be ungrouped to acorresponding new track.